Trillium 2009, and a joyful return

It's true that I haven't missed a Trillium in five years, but it's also true that I don't think I've ever said, "Let's get out of the sun" at Trillium, either, until this year.

Trillium is that festival, you know? It's the one that, the first time you went to it, you said, "Wow, I really need to go to more festivals, because this is awesome!" It's the festival that turns you on to the festival circuit in ADF, that kicks off a year of camping and seeing old friends and meeting new ones all over again.

In short, Trillium reminds me why I'm an ADF member, year after year. It is the closest thing ADF has to a true Spring of Renewal, and I cannot imagine a festival season without it.

Though I was late coming to Trillium this year (I arrived at 2:30 AM on Saturday morning, missing two days of the festival), it didn't at all affect the amount of joy I felt at simply being there. Met by sleepingwolf and Chris at the fire that night, we spoke for a while before I finally put up my tent (in the usual campsite) and fell asleep.

The next morning, I finished my presentation and then went out for a stroll. It was a real pleasure to visit with folks for a very extended period of time for a change, to not be hurrying to the next workshop or worrying about ritual parts. Of course, then I was asked to take the omen at the main rite, so I guess I did end up with a part.

My workshop was entitled "An Awfully Big Adventure: Signposts on the Final Journey of Indo-European Souls," and it focused on the journey a soul experiences in the "generic" IE afterlife (with culturally specific information thrown in to make it applicable, of course). I had been listed on the schedule as "Surprise!" because I had utterly failed to get valkyrvolva a title for the workshop since I'd had so little breathing time to reply to her mailings before the actual event.

I like to think that my workshop was a pleasant surprise. I know it was for me, because in writing the workshop, I came to a new understanding of death and how I, myself, see it. But that's for another time.

After my workshop, I ran into town to do some thrifting (because Trillium is nothing without thrifting, so say I!), and then came back for the main rite, where I did some divination once I realized it was my turn to do something.

At the ritual, we were also privileged to meet Margaret, a new addition to the ADF family, and a beautiful baby girl. druidkirk did a beautiful presentation of the child to the folk (don't listen to him if he tells you he screwed up), and we all got to meet her up close.

The omens for the rite were: , , and

The bardic circle was great, with acousticdryad leading the thing. I remember the first time I heard her singing at Wellspring so many years ago (I honestly thought it was a recording of some great artist at the time), and her voice just gets better every time I hear it. She kept the Bardic Circle running smoothly and gave it an oh-so-subtle push when it started to run out of steam. The Circle itself ran long into the night, with some drumming, but mostly people telling stories about their encounters with divinity, singing a song, or telling a joke. In all, it was one of the best Bardic Circles I think I've ever been at.

Sunday morning saw me up early again, and I grabbed breakfast (an awesome fudgesicle) with druidkirk and then caught up with sleepingwolf for a project that we decided simply needed to be done. I stuck around a bit to discuss next year's Trillium (the theme will be "magic" and I've volunteered to present on "Creating Magical Entities" already), and am already looking forward to doing this all again.

I have to say, it was one amazing weekend. I'm so much more relaxed today than I was when I left on Friday: good friends, good conversation, and a comfortable place to sleep will do that for you, though.

Yeah, I wouldn't trade my Trillium experiences for anything in the world.